/lit/ questions that don't deserve their own thread.

>>8542284
[question]
how can i un-pseud myself?

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[question]
>The Ego and His Own: The Case of the Individual Against Authority (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)
>Paperback: 400 pages

Why is it that philosophy books are so big? How come the authors read and think so much yet are unable to write succinctly? Are they retarded?

>>8542298
tl;dr: don't be an insecure asshole

For starters, don't try to impress people around you. It's better to use that energy towards improving your understanding of the topic.

Stop using that new word you saw in <massive meme book> all the time. It makes you sound like a kid.

Don't ever think you're better than the plebs around you just because you just finished yet another philosophy book. People dedicate their entire lives trying to understand how the universe works, you certainly haven't figured it out just because you read <greek author here>.

Stop giving your opinion all the time. You will sound like you're insecure and looking for validation. Let the ideas sink into you before you start talking like you know it all and everybody is retarded.

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[Question]
How the fuck do you even go about writing poetry in 2016?
I've never written anything like that before, but now I have to for a uni thing, and I don't want it to be shit obviously. But the idea of it seems so weird to me. I've written a bit of short fiction, usually quite abstract and cerebral, but will this work for poetry?
And even then, seriously, how do you go about writing a poem? I have no idea where to even start.

>>8542340
And please don't say anything along the lines of "just be yourself" and "express yourself". That's how you get undergrad shit and that's what I'm trying to avoid.

>>8542284
where do you find good monographs to read? They're too expensive to buy online and my local library obviously doesn't have shit and jstor sucks or I'm too stupid to figure out how to use it. Someone please help

>>8542284
[Question]
How many threads do you have hidden right now?

>>8542359
8

>>8542315
STICKY THIS IMMEDIATELY

Anyone have a link to the /lit/ discord?

>>8542359
None in /lit/, but I have like 20 hidden in /r9k/.

[Question]
What is the best bible translation to read?

>>8542455
https://discordapp.com/channels/welcome/179077179605385216/179077179605385216/0

>>8542524
I'm not a bible connoisseur but I liked Ferrar Fenton's version because of the footnotes. I only really read Genesis tho.

>>8542355
You might find them in college libraries.

>>8542284
How's the Charles Jarvis translation of don quixote?

>>8542528
I mean an invite link

[question]
Not really a question. I just want to recommend using the Bookerly font. It's the font used in recent kindles.

>>8542552
https://discord.gg/SWkzH7Z

[QUESTION] I'm about to buy the Kobo Aura. Is this the best e reader? Is it the nice middle ground between too much or too little? Is Kindle any better?

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>>8542559
Forgot pic.

[question]
(Sort of related to >>8542301)
What are some good short books to read? Anything is ok but I'd like to read some non-fiction too.

>>8542562
I've got the HD version. It's my first e-reader so I can't compare, but I'm more than content. Apparently it's better/easier to handle pirated books on a Kobo than a Kindle, so it's got that going for it.

Is there any value in reading /lit/ or is it just a fun thing to do

>>8542675
It helps you think

Who are some other writers like kafka but maybe even more surreal? Ive read steps by kosinski already

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>>8542284
What is the best free/pirated fiction writing course?

>>8542737
Oh, yeah, good question. Can we get a general list of good fiction writing courses going?

>>8542675
Fun is a valuable thing.

[Question]
How can I get into the literary lifestyle? It' sound like a fantastic dream for me, but I do not want it to be fantastic. I do not want to read, but to eat books.

>>8542730
Gogol's short stories are pretty surreal, especially The Nose. Maybe you'll enjoy it.

>>8544800
>I do not want to read, but to eat books.
Then do it. I especially recommend a mixed salad and some white wine with a light novella.
Seriously though, don't try to force it, or you'll end up merely imitating you idea of a literary lifestyle.

>>8542737
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/start-writing-fiction/

Why does the right think any of their ideas deserve admiration and respect when most of them are under read to the point of gleefully flirting with ideas that force them to degrade themselves and give into the problems that only put them in such a state of resentment in the first place.

Why does the right seem to herald the problems a society faces as clear proof we need to double down on them and admit defeat instead of using our capacity to come up with clearer solutions that aren't manipulated away easily. Why has, for example, the right in modern time been so easily weaponized by elite forces while the left has been declawed and made new right? And the subtle and not so subtle consequences of that? Who is really to blame? What brought us here?

Why does the right seem to want to force their ideals upon others who do read, and who disagree while they do not.

>>8544800
you should become a silverfish, they live a pretty lit lifestyle in my option, flaneurs and bibliophages

Is white noise the best place to start with DeLillo?

Are there any arguments for something along the lines of "any belief that is impossible to claim without being self-contradictory, is necessarily false".

>>8545039
Sounds pretty stylish, and much better than bookworm.

Is it too /pseud/ to write poems about Greek myths?

>>8545186
That's called reductio ad absurdem. It's a proven logical rule

>>8545276
That sounds like a great way to practice writing poetry, at the very least. If Greek myths inspire you, do it.

>>8544993
Why do you attack caricatures? What are you, some 20 year old who hasn't read fuckall either? Why don't you suspend your judgments until you actually know something?

Life will be more interesting if you assume that your intellectual opponents have as many convictions and even insights as you do, however wrong they may be in clinging to certain ones or being misled by certain mistakes.

>He who thinks a great deal is not suited to be a party man: he thinks his way through the party and out the other side too soon.

>>8545326
>Why do you attack caricatures? What are you, some 20 year old who hasn't read fuckall either? Why don't you suspend your judgments until you actually know something?

Because these caricatures exist in unfortunate number, and it's for reasons just as unfortunate. Blinding yourself to the truth of the matter because it's inconvenient isn't a good idea. Blaming me for pointing out awful behavior as not observation and witness but just of "caricatures" is just disingenuous.

>Life will be more interesting if you assume that your intellectual opponents have as many convictions and even insights as you do, however wrong they may be in clinging to certain ones or being misled by certain mistakes.

I already have. There is such a thing as being more read and being unable to relate to someone who prides themselves on not reading and ruthlessly criticizing anyone who comes up with conclusions who has. It's not unlike their own deluded persecution complex they've invented they see from the farther left.

They've gone farther right than even the farther left have gone left.

You know, exactly what I'm speaking of.

[question] Is there any point in reading translation of Ulysses? I mean, is it even possible to make a decent translation of it? I know there is translation in my native language, I know the guy worked on it many years, but I'm afraid it's not decent since he was criticized for his Shakespeare translations.
I enjoyed Dubliners and Portrait very much and want to experience Ulysses without any loss of quality.

>>8545340
Hey, whatever provides fodder for anonymous venting about strawmen on the Internet. Remember, it's better to bitch about fictionalised rednecks on 4chan than to read Fichte's inaugural address or Jacques Ellul on techne.

[QUESTION] How's the Charles Jarvis translation of Don Quixote?

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How do you recover from a life of being bullied? I'm certain my childhood ended when I was 11, and a whole chunk of it at 7.

Anyway can I have feedback on this?

>The night was chill. Every now and then, a powerful wind would come and push so hard on the trees, their tips would touch the ground. Then, when it was over, most trees bounced back. However, some had enough, and snapped. But most depressing of all, is the one that got stuck, disfigured from then on. And all they could do, was watch the sky, and hope the sun imploded.

[Question]
How difficult is The Tunnel by Gass? Been curious about it but after struggling with certain parts of Omensetter's Luck I'm wondering if it's even worth a shot or if I should try to read more modernist stuff first

>>8545396
It's definitely translateable but its difficult to catch everything but if you're reading it for the first time you're probably not going to get all of it anyways. Reading stuff in their original languages is always to prefer though.

>>8542315
Solid fucking advice.

>>8545298
>proven
top kek

>>8545402
>Hey, whatever provides fodder for anonymous venting about strawmen on the Internet

Like you aren't the one venting about someone you don't like disagreeing with you in a thread provided to vent. I encourage you to, since it seems like you have some pent up emotions tied to your politics.

Is Crime And Punishment a fast paced than 1984?

I find 1984 interesting but I feel sleepy while reading. Can't do more than 50 pages in one sitting.

>>8545485
Crime & Punishment is seriously slow and a lot may feel repetitive. Once you get into it though it's incredibly captivating so I highly recommend it.

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>>8545411
>How do you recover from a life of being bullied?
tl; dr: get hid of that weight on your shoulders and work with what you have. keep moving forward even if you're only able to crawl.

Learn to accept* what happened.

You were bullied, that sucks, but you can't do anything about it now. There is no point on crying over it, it's much more productive to put the ashes of your youth in a jar and put it on your mind's highest shelf as if it was a trophy. You were bullied and you survived!

Maybe your parents neglected or downplayed you or the bullying issues that were brought to them, but they are the only parents you have. You'll have to accept* them too. Having a healthy (as far as possible) relationship with your parents is indefinitely better than hating them for life, even if they hate you.

You're older now. You ought to become your own parent now. You'll have to comfort, play, teach and take care of your adult self. If you can't do something by yourself you ask for help, it's not shameful.

Disclaimer: 4 years of individual and group therapy.

* By accept I mean "respect, honor and be in peace with".

git gud

[QUESTION]
Are there any good mass-market romance novels?

>>8545306
They do, but I can't but feel pretentious as fuck. It's not like anyone is ever going to read any of it, though. So I might as well go on. Thanks.

>>8545634
I liked The Time Traveller's Wife. It's still nothing special, though.

Is History of Western Philosophy good place to start with philosophy?

I'm thinking I'll go Five Dialogues after this and then Republic. Then wherever. Probably pick something easy.

I've never read any philosophy before.

>>8545493
I've gone through Karamazov's 850 pages in one week. I just started Crime and Punishment and it seems to be a easy read as well. I don't know if it's Dostoevsky or the translations. This one is by Constance Garnett. He probably tried to make it easy as possible otherwise the language seems pretty dry. Maybe someone who knows Russian can clarify

>>8545681
No, it's a bad idea. You are better off trying to read Plato on his own and then getting some context on what's happening.
Russell is just going to fly over your head and might transfer his personal biases onto you.

>>8545734
What do you suggest as intro then?

>>8545681

if you've never read any philosophy before, you're better off following along Yale's open course (or MIT or some other equivalent) on western philosophy

you /could/ just follow the reading list, but you should really watch the lectures too--philosophy isn't just reading, but really involves critical thinking and you'd need someone discussing it to really have it sink in

>>8545853
I'll just follow my original plan anyway. No downside to reading. I have plenty of time. Thanks for the heads up though I'll try to be conscious about what I take to heart.

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Picked up Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation. In the preface, he mentions that he wants you to read his essay "On the Fourfold Root of the Principal of Sufficient Reasoning" before reading TWWR. Is this really necessary, or can I just dive right in?

[question]

Why did anyone tell me how [descriptor] this book would be?


variations: Why did you make me read this?

Why is everyone so into this book?

>>8545411
Stop being a pussy, lift weights, relocate.

what i want to know is how to get the intrusive thoughts regarding hanging myself that crop up every hour or so to go away

>>8542559
Can I get a new link?

I was kicked when I first tried to join last night

>>8546405

drugs

[QUESTION]

Need help tracking down a book. The author was interviewed on NPR just the other day, but I only caught the very end. The author's name was Sir Robert something, couldn't make out what the last name was, but it sounded sort of like Penwell (nothing came up when I searched for that full name, though). The book dealt with the search for a unifying theory in regards to quantum mechanics and the macrouniverse, and the author namedropped Einstein, Shrodinger, and Dirac as examples of those who admitted current understanding of quantum mechanics leads to absurd conclusions, making the aforementioned search necessary and vital to further development of our understanding of physics. Anyone else hear the interview or know the book and can help me out?

>>8547042
Never mind, of course I found it minutes after finally posting for help. For anyone who might be interested, it's Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe by Sir Roger (not Robert as I thought) Penrose.

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Next reply determines what I read next.

Not listed: Everything that's been translated for Soseki/Kawabata/Abe I've also read. Don't like Murakami or Mishima.

>>8547166

Silence
Essays in idleness

>>8547170

Done. Thanks anon.

>>8547087
You might be interested in Horgan's End of Science as a kind of who's-who of weirdos like Penrose

Fun read too

>>8547184
Thanks for the rec. Sounds interesting.

>>8546372
>Is this really necessary
Oh fuck yes it is. He mentions it so much you get sick of it.

>>8546405
Have you reached the point that you catch yourself telling yourself a joke about killing yourself for the second time?

Where can I get and aaarg invite?

>>8542340
Do "studies" of other writers to understand not just how they write, but how to write like them.
Start combining studies until it feels like you're writing.
That's what I'm doing and I'm finally becoming happy with some of my work for longer than the grace period of new creation.

[QUESTION]
Hello /lit/ Does anyone knows the name of the book that had a commercial banner on 4chan like back in june 2016? The cover had two guys with white robes.

Where should I start with Voltaire?

>>8547794
the Greeks.

>>8542524
King James

>>8542675
>value
>fun
NEITHER. The only purpose of reading is to deconstruct.

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[question]
What's the best modern Greek version of the Iliad and how does it compare to Merrill's translation?

>>8545634
"Possession" by A.S.Byatt

>>8548002
Marvel's Avengers

I've seen both editions posted here, so which one should I get?

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Penguin-Classics-Lucius-Annaeus/dp/0140442103

Or
https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Letters-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199533210

>>8545634

i enjoyed sweet tooth by ian mcwhatever

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What one should I read next

Can't decide what to read next.
>walden
>catch-22
>infinite jest
>the crying of lot 49

>>8549177
Catch 22

>>8547166
Tales of Moonlight and Rain is GOAT.

>>8549205
on it. thanks

[QUESTION]
are adverbs bad or is it a meme?

>>8547254
My wife is in healthcare, and would probably commit me if i told her i think about making a very specific noose out of industrial grade wire and a low friction metal slip, and hanging myself from an oak tree beside my house at least 6 times a day. It has however replaced the recurrent fantasy of spitting in authority figures faces, so I guess thats something.

>>8549171
Bump

>>8549272
It's a meme but amateurs overuse them trying to be descriptive

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>>8549312
Such edge much ouch

Get fucking help, you dolt.

do I need to have read Tom Sawyer before Huckleberry Finn?

recently got a copy of the latter.

>>8549171
Butcher's Crossing

>>8545177
yes

Are there too many books about purgatory?

>>8542284
What's a good book to start with the following authors?
D.H. Lawrence, Zola, Balzac, Flaubert

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[Question]

Am I missing something with pic related? It's supposed to be an American Classic, but I didn't really get the overall...purpose (?) of the book.

Like I get the whole violence thing, and the judges speech on war, but the book was essentially a bunch of strung together meaningless encounters, not to mention I find reading McCarthys damn quotationless shit annoying anyway.

I know I'm missing something here, but the book to me just felt empty

Just to be sure, the same mannish cross-dressing Steeply talking with Marathe is the same one sleeping with/interviewing Orin, right?

>>8550389
D.H. Lawrence - avoid. He's a bitter, acidic piece of shit - a lesser Thomas Hardy.
Zola - "The Human Beast" ("L'Bete Humaine") fast-paced, short, brutal.
Balzac - "Father Goriot" (of course). It's his most celebrated novel for a reason.
Flaubert - "Three Tales" - 3 stories that encapsulate his writing perfectly. The tragic realism, the manic escape into indulgent fantasy.

>>8550525
>D.H. Lawrence - avoid. He's a bitter, acidic piece of shit

Post your tits right now you disgusting tuberculous whore.

>>8549438
You don't HAVE to - but it's such a short book, and pretty funny and - hell - even thrilling at the end. It's a great book and you'll know who half the characters are if you read it first.

>>8550534
(.)(.)

You like that? Mmmm, yeah - tell me you like that.

What's your ideal state of the planet and its sociosphere, /lit/?

>inb4 ur utopia is my dystopia

>>8542340
open your heart then

>>8550525
Thank anon, I appreciate that you took the time to develop why you would choose these works.
Furtheremore, is Hardy too hard for a non-native english speaker? I usually read most english written works in english but sometimes it takes a while to understand some 18-19th century authors
>>8550534
If you disagree what would you rec.?
I don't know about him so I wouldn't know if he was a piece of shit or not

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I don't know what I took from this? Except for that I feel like my life will amount to nothing

[Question]
What's the inherent vice in Inherent VIce?

>>8545411
become an absurdist

>>8550608
I can't speak for /lit/ as a whole but my ideal state would be global anarchy. Rural communes, urban industry and development organized by syndicates in a horizontal hierarchy, free association from each person and community to another.

What should I read? Currently waiting I have The Tale of Genji, Catch-22, Kafka on the Shore, Divine Comedy, Isaac Asmiov's Collected Works or The Shannara Trilogy lol

>>8551568
D.H. Lawrence is a better poet than novelist (he is a very underrated poet).
I'd suggest reading his poetry, either a collection/anthology or "birds, beasts and flowers".
If you want to read one of his novels I'd suggest sons and lovers.

>>8552052
capitalism

>>8552044
Well, then that's that, isn't it?

>>8547898
Bingo.

Can someone pass me the other version of the starter kit? It's not on the wiki.

So what was Bartleby's deal? Was he just depressed?

>>8542284
[question]
Is there any good book about death, dying, reincarnation and other stuff like that but without the religious background? More like studies, theories and such.

>>8553775
..............

I am not a native English speaker and don't live in the USA. By accident I stumbled upon a shop that sells books in English for English teachers and bought A Tale of two Cities because it was cheap . Is it a good book? Is it a classic like Olivers Twist and Bleak House?

Is infinite jest actually good or is it really just a meme book?

>>8553900
Both. A lot of people shitpost about it but it's actually good. Not saying you'll like it, but you should try it for yourself.

>>8553926
alright thanks.

>>8553787
Yes, it's an influential classic, especially within high school literature departments

The kind of novel many students bemoan

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what does /lit/ think of Mr. Monster? I read this book in high school and really liked it. I'm 19 now and would probably still like it. I feel like you'll all say it's a shitty angry book but even if that's the case could any of you recommend a book that you like that's the closest thing to good for a pleb like me?

>>8553998
>angry
*angsty

[question]
What is "the point" of reading literature, as opposed to just reading books you enjoy for whatever reason, books that are not necessarily literary?
I understand many claim to read literature for catharsis, and while some people are more inclined to experience catharsis through literature, there are non-literary books that could do the same. For example, a lot of kids have some sort of catharsis when reading the Harry Potter series.

And then, of course, there is the ability to analyze and appreciate the more artistic books. But appreciating someone's art isn't the only reason to read, imo. Some read for pure escapism with Sci-fi/fantasy, others just to pass the time with a page-turning crime novel.

So, back to my main question- why bother with reading literature and learning how to critique it?

>>8554092
Why 'bother' doing anything? Jesus Christ.

I just read an enjoyed Atlas Shrugged.
Can /lit/ tell me why my opinion is wrong and how Atlas Shrugged is actually a terrible book?

>>8554398
The point is that you enjoyed it. Under no circumstances are you allowed to enjoy what you read.

>>8553998
>7 hours later
[question]

>>8542284
How many different people do you think post on here? o/u 50?

>>8550450
Look up some of the gnostic theses on the book

I'm curious if there are any decent stories following a "trapped inside mmorpg" scenario. Aside from many untranslated japanese novels, are there any worthwhile books or fanfics that have been written in the west?

>>8555463
>decent stories
>trapped inside mmorpg
pick one

>>8555486
Yeah, yeah, I know. But there ought to be at least one that is worth reading, right?

>>8555491
Depends on how high your bar for "decent stories" is, of course. In my eyes the likelihood of a single good novel involving people being trapped inside an mmorpg is minimal, since "trapped inside mmorpg" heavily implies pandering to lowlife mmorpg addicts.

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[Question]
Why isn't Emily Brontë our queen?

Any stories about Chads bullying aspies without repercussion?

[Question]
Are there any plans or books to get /lit/?

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Okay, I should have posted it here instead of making a thread. Never too late for a re-post I guess.

[QUESTION]

How much wacky unrealistic shit can you get away with in a novel if you play it right?

I want to write a novel that rigidly follows The Hero's Journey and takes place in a realistic representation of the modern world, yet I also want the characters to resemble fantasy archetypes as much as possible within the bounds of (pseudo-)reality.

Does anyone have a PDF of Persuasion and Rhetoric by Carlo Michelstaedter
I can only find an analysis

>>8555713
Yeah, most of them

[question]

Best Chekhov short stories?

>>8555718
as much as you want, see Pynchmeister

>>8542675
>>8542693
Really makes you think...

>>8555726
Anna on the neck

Are there other writer programs for android other than Google Drive/documents?

I'm trying to edit my novel now.

[OBSERVATION]

You guys are fags for using tags like this

What's a book that's similar in style and content to Butcher's Crossing by John Williams?

The style is plain and unconvoluted, without unnecessary flair. Easy to read.

The parts I enjoyed the most were the chapters in the mountains: the nature, how the men changed during the winter, isolation from the outside world, and how none of it mattered in the end.

I guess you could say I'm looking for a "western" (at least set during that period, the late 1800s or something), with "existential" (not sure you could call them that, and it doesn't have to be that precisely) themes.

>>8555726
I'm not much of a Chekhov fan so take this with a pinch of salt, but I really like A Visit to Friends and In The Ravine.

>>8554092
Dude, just read what you want. Critique might help you understand more about what you read just like teaching can help you learn more than just practicing/reading about a topic.

What lit does most of the time is just mental masturbation not critique.

>>8556455
hanx writer and ulysses serve me well

>>8554092
Probably [noob question], but what sets literature apart from books?

Looking for a book that has the same feeling and charm to it as Pride and Prejudice. Already read all of Austen's work and I love it to pieces, but P&P is really special. Doesn't have to be from that era, could be contemporary or whatever - just has to have that kind of sentimentality to it. No I am not a woman, but I am gay.

>>8556812
in the broader sense, nothing. the distinctions people make are that "literature" is a work that has lasting merit and is exceptional

[Question]
approximately how many pages did it take you to get used to IJ, if you know what I'm sayin'?

Whats a really good book to start getting into reading, i dont know my favourite genre yet

>>8557409
[question]

>>8557409

Do you have any favorite movies or TV shows? What are some of your hobbies?

>>8557409
also, are you American, is English your native language?

i got into that vonnegut guy over the summer and i want to know what to read next from him
so far It goes
cats cradle > breakfast of champions > slaughterhouse 5 = jailbird > welcome to the monkey house

[question]

Can someone get this book from gen.lib for me? The USA is blocked iirc, and I can't access it, but it's there.

>Practical Strategies for Technical Communication

There's easy hosting on pomf.is for the file. Thank you in advance.

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[question.dat]
How do I get into poetry? I've read some Baudelaire and Rimbaud, what are some other poets like them?

>>8557659
Here it is:
https://u.pomf.is/dwonvx.pdf

>>8557800
>https://u.pomf.is/dwonvx.pdf

Thanks a ton, anon.

>>8557809
It's nothing. But is it really geo-blocked though? That's a shame.

How to get a girl to like me

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[question]

I'm a guy living in a third world country that knows shit about politics and literature in general. I feel stupid and alienated and wish to have a more decent grasp at life and the important things of life. It sounds stupid but i'm serious.

The only thing i've read on my life were the harry potter books, i am legend, douglas adams, some stephen king trash, lots of neil gaiman stuff during my ~le nerdy boy phase and the antichrist. I just want to be more aware of stuff. Any recomendations of places where i can read interesting stuff? Any interesting stuff for me to read? What's the best way of reading in the computer? Please help me i feel so stupid.

>>8557838
This. Any girl, really. I'm so alone that it's starting to affect my reading again; there are days when I'm too depressed to read even a page.

>>8557838
Just be yourself.

>>8557838
get realistic standards, taking into account what you actually look like, what your personality is actually like

now average that score out and aim for one below that for the time being

get a job, use the number above to determine which girls will probably go for you, even if its just cause they have no other alternative

>>8557892
where do you talk to women?
>never I'm living the literary lifestyle and haven't time for anything other than my books and alcohol and depression and snoot

get a job where a lot of girls work or take all this heartache back to r9k and become steeped in their warm frothy rhetoric of garbage, either way stop shitting up lit with this stuff

>>8557915
>get realistic standards, taking into account what you actually look like, what your personality is actually like
>
>now average that score out and aim for one below that for the time being

Im shy desu... :(

>>8557878
Use libgen to pirate almost any book, use torrent sites once in a while if libgen doesn't have it (as a last ditch attempt)

Google "Opencourseware" or "OCW." Some really good universities, like Ivy Leagues and MIT and Berkeley and shit, put up full, free university courses. The lectures are all recorded (audio and/or video), and the syllabus is there, so as long as you can pirate or find the books used by the course, you can follow along and take dozens upon dozens of real undergraduate courses at some of the best colleges in the world. This is cool in its own right, but it also shows you what KIND of knowledge and intelligence is expected at that level. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

Any subject you want to learn, just use Google and dig around. There's always some Reddit post or an old website, or even an Amazon review, where an expert in that topic has put up a list of the best books for beginners and intermediates. You get a knack for this after a while, so you know what to look for. A lot of books are crap, especially for self-study and solo study, so you have to look around.

But really, there's nothing stopping you. I'm in grad school studying literature, and the only reason I can't give you a list of everything I read and studied for university up to this point is because I don't have the list, and I can't remember everything. If, by some fluke, you had the full list of everything I've read and studied, to get to the point that I can do postgraduate research in literature, your reaction would DEFINITELY be
>....That's it?

There's nothing theoretically standing between you and a PhD-level education in literature, philosophy, classics, mathematics, or all of the above. 90% of the shit you need is easily found online or in libraries. College students are mostly lazy morons who do half their work, and take five tries to get anything right. The only advantage that the college people in some rich coutnry have over you is that they have teachers, and institutions, and parents, who keep making them try again, and who keep shitting on them when they fail. That's the BIG SECRET to 98% of the college-educated people out there - the chief function of college is that it is a surrogate daddy who yells at you when you fuck up.

A weird but analogous example is celebrities with nice bodies. Do you really think all those moron fucking American celebrities, who can barely act, who are often barely 21 years old, have incredible self-discipline to do workout routines and achieve their physical peak? No - they're rich. They hire a guy who simplifies it all by telling them what to do and then putting pressure on them (the pressure of annoying the guy) if they fail. And they still fuck it up and probably go 1/10th as quickly as they could if they really cared. It's exactly the

[Question]
They say to write what you know if you want a story that's personally fulfilling, but what if you live in a suburb with nothing interesting happening in a 40 mile radius?

Who do you take inspiration from if all of your friends are aimless drug addicts without any goals?

>>8558183
same with some random average joe - he COULD become Arnold Schwarzenegger if he really wanted. He probably won't do it, because life is complicated. He'll just buy workout equipment or a gym membership, use it three times, and eventually give up and get used to being a flabby asshole. You are the flabby asshole right now, because you're not rich enough to hire a personal trainer (aka, your parents weren't rich enough to be smart enough to yell at you until you got into Yale, at which point Yale starts yelling at you as well).

If you really, really, really want to be smart, just start reading. I know an Indian guy who did his BA and MA in Mumbai and came from a struggling family, then applied to a mid-tier US university, did his PhD in Philosophy there, and now he teaches Philosophy at a good state university. His big secret was that he was lucky enough to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger type, while most people won't be able to take it that far.

Don't ever feel inadequate to people with better opportunities. Trust me, the norm is to squander those opportunities. Most people at great universities are doing the bare minimum.

Don't feel like the road ahead of you is infinite and you'll never make it. Focus on enjoying what you're doing. If you read seriously, and you read often, it'll eventually get easier.

>Any interesting stuff for me to read?
Depends on your interests. Try to figure out some of your interests (philosophy? literature? politics?), and if any are academic, then search for good textbooks and undergraduate-level books that give overviews and summaries of those disciplines and fields.

For literature, just read stuff you enjoy + as much stuff as you can, and if you want to appreciate capital-L "Literature" as well, then read a few books ABOUT the traditions you are reading. If you find you enjoy 19th century Russian literature a lot, read a few simple college-level books on the golden age of Russian lit.

In anything you're learning, look at it like an undiscovered country that you're trying to map out. It always helps to have the borders and edges mapped out first, so you at least know what you're dealing with. All the space between the borders might be empty, and some spots may be more complicated than others, but at least you have some idea of how much progress you're making, and where to go next.

>What's the best way of reading in the computer?
Online reading sucks because staring into a monitor sucks, but it might be all you have if you don't have access to a good library. Some e-readers don't have backlights, so they aren't like staring into a fucking lightbulb.

Also, just remember that the internet is filled with hobbyists and enthusiasts, and runoff from university courses. If you pick any philosophical subject and search "[subject] syllabus" you'll probably get ten pdfs used in real courses. At least you can get some idea of good books to read from those.

Lots of stuff like www.earlymoderntexts.com also

>>8558191
>>8558183
I should clarify that by "Arnold Schwarzenegger type" I mean some guy from a bumfuck country who gets up every day and works his ass off, NOT a celebrity.

Arnold was some nobody in Austria and even when he was drafted by the army he still worked out 15 hours a day because of his determination. Not everybody is lucky enough to have that perfect willpower, but it's at least a good success story and shows what's possible.

>>8558183
Thank you for everything, you just made my day and possibly the rest of my year.

>>8558223
Definitely don't take anything I said as authoritative just because I have five kinds of autism and wrote 6000 characters about it. I hope any of it helps, but I could be totally wrong or retarded or something. I just have a weird appreciation for your situation.

>>8549171
Throw out As I Lay Dying and go read The Sound & The Fury, Absalom, Absalom! and A Light In August.

>>8558239
It's kind of a mess actually, i'm depressive because i feel so fucking alienated, cant tell right wings from left wings and whatever means what, and i've been always fine with that, carrying life in a nihilistic self-destructive way. What the fuck is there for me to accomplish on my life where i live anyways. Recently i got a job and people have so much opinions they're driving me mad, people talking about libertarianism and other stuff i just cant crack by google researches. There's always a counter argument based on some fucking book.I was a NEET before getting this job and now i'm going insane, but shit i need the money so bad. Thank you, wholeheartedly, anyways.

>>8558241
I've already read those though

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Is it better to learn Latin first or Greek first ? I know Latin is probably a lot easier, but it seems like it would make more sense to go chronologically forward. What is the standard order ?

I really want to know what the classics are all about, but I'm never going to allow myself to read translations of them.

Also, would Latin be easier if I learn Italian first ? I can read pretty well in Spanish and a bit of French, but I don't see anything familiar at all in Latin.

Essential Chinese and Spanish /lit/? Becoming fluent in both and would like to expand my literature tastes.

>>8558324
Borges, Márquez, and Cervantes are considered essential Spanish literature, but I've only started learning Spanish so Borges is the only one of those I've read. Llosa, Bolaño, Láinez, and Macedonio Fernández also seem interesting but I haven't gotten around to any of them.

Also, I'm not well versed in Chinese literature, but have you looked into Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or Dream of the Red Chamber ? Sorry if those are really obvious.

>>8558324
Obviously, Don Quixote (Don Quixote consists of part 1 and part 2 which was published a decade later, make sure when you buy it it includes both)

I would really recommend the following books

100 years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez
Fictions by Borges
The Aleph by Borges
Pedro Paramo by Rulfo
2666 by Bolano
The Savage Detectives by Bolano

Some other works, which are often considered great would be:

-Conversation in the Cathedral, and The War of the End of the World by Vargas Llosa (nobel prize winner).

-The Lost Steps, Explosion in a Cathedral, and The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier (his prose is very lavish and not beginner friendly, will make you have to use the dictionary very often)

-Hopscotch by Cortazar, and the collections of his short stories.

- Love in the Time of Cholera, and the novellas No One writes to the Colonel and Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Garcia Marquez.

If you want poetry in Spanish, the most obvious recommendations would be Ruben Dario, Neruda and Lorca, XVII century poets like Gongora and Quevedo can be quite hard to understand.
Some other great poets, Octavio Paz, Guillen and Ramon Jimenez from Spain. Borges was also a pretty good poet.

>>8542301
You don't read it like a novel, you don't have to go cover to cover.

Also, the Ego and His Own is more like 200 pages... that edition must have a ridiculous amount of preface wankery, all of which you can just fucking skip.

Seriously though, Stirner is a stupidly easy read as far as philosophy goes. And if you glance at the table of contents, it's pretty clear that you can cut right through the first half of the book if you want to get to the chase.

>>8545784
Not him, but personally I just picked up whatever seemed interesting and ran with it. Philosophy tends to be fairly insular, with writers responding to writers who wrote in response to a response... lots of people say start with the Greeks, but frankly you're going to eventually end up reading them anyhow no matter who you start with.

Also, I started with Russell's History myself... would not recommend. It's a'ight, but the guy is rife with his own biases and is about as fair as Zinn towards US History. Dude has a real hate-boner for Romanticism, for example. Still a fun and informative read after you've gotten your feet wet tho'.

>>8542301
400 pages isn't a very big book.

>>8557441
I really like the movie submarine and i do photography in my spare time

>>8557446
Im from australia and yeah english is my native language

Explain to me why you liked a confederacy of dunces

Received me some short stories /novellas that encapsulates childhood nostalgia or childhood emotion well

Think an encounter, from dubliners, for instance

>>8558184
Bret Easton Ellis worked with that though

>>8542574
Skylark by Dezso

does anyone have a link to nabokov's lessons on literature? I could only find the one about the russian writers

>>8555718
You should read Barth if you haven't yet. He's done exactly what you just prescribed in multiple of his novels

>>8556885
~200/250

rec trans lit

>>8558730
>>8558730
Krasosmutnění by Hrabal, I'm not sure if it was translated into English.
Ota Pavel wrote a lot about childhood.

Is Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series worth getting into? There's like seven books in the series and I'm not so sure a guy who writes horror could handle what I assume is a sweeping fantasy/sci-fi epic.

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I don't remember the author or the quote word by word. The ideas was:
the end of the world will not be mourned? but greeted with laughter and cheers
It's a nice quote and I hope one of you remembers it

>>8555721
bump

Tags are daft, you know something is a question when it ends in a question mark.

Do new editions of 'The Secret Garden' contain the 'blacks are not people' line?

I only have a basic understanding of Western philosophy but I have a good understanding of Western religion, is Kierkegaard worth getting into?

>>8558316
Don't bother learning Greek, Latin and Italian are more useful.

>>8558777
Orlando

>>8559084
That's not a quote it's a meme:

2012: oh no! world is gonna end
2016: are we gonna do this or what

How important do you think it is to avoid complex language? Obviously writing about philosophy warrants a few big words but in what situation does language really need to be more casual?
Basically, how do I avoid sounding pretentious? I try to use common words but sometimes they just aren't specific enough to what I'm trying to express.

>>8542284
[question] Anyone read the viking sagas? Is it worth learning Old Norse for (assuming studying dead languages is something I'm going to be doing anyway)

>>8559375
Depends on your style, Hemingway vs Faulkner.

What's up with the ending of Gravity's Rainbow? Is Slothrops dissolution supposed to be something like a rocket as its parts fall away? Is the ending hymn supposed to suggest that "the Zone" isn't a new thing? If I make a GR thread will people discuss it?

>>8559341
But how can I have a good perspective on literature and philosophy without having read Homer or Plato ? Learning Greek is not optional for me. I'm absolutely going to do it.

>>8559375
I guess you could try your best to make the meaning of the necessary inferable from context. Or if you're writing specifically for layman use footnotes. You shouldn't care about people who don't want to learn new words.

It also matters if you're writing on the internet in which case easily googleable words aren't much to worry about.

>>8542340
You're going to suck ass and your neurosis will stop you from growing as an artist b/c you take failure personally

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how bad is this on the scale of 1 to 10? with 10 being absolute horseshit.

>>8558781
>Krasosmutnění
I don't read Czech unfortunately
Seems like Ota Pavel has been translated though, I'll check it out, cheers

>>8542284
[question]
What's your best piece of advice for someone seeking to write a Fantasy novel?

>>8560115
start right now, don't stop till it's done.

>>8560115
start writing it maybe you will realize halfway it's not worth to write fantasy

>>8559841
8. Decently written, but it isn't of any literary value. It's just emotional torture porn that a lot of normies think is artistic.

>>8560115
write a huge fucking tome describing the daily life of a gardener in a well-developed fantasy setting. just write pages upon pages of descriptions of fantastical plants and how to grow them and shit, write footnotes that expand on the imaginary flora, fauna, politics and certain cultural aspects of your made-up world. then market it as the next big thing after asoiaf.

>>8560141
Holy... I want more

>>8560141
this could actually work and be good unlike all the epic fantasy trash

>>8559375
But you have to use obscure words to be a good writer. It's like you've never even read Nabokov.

>>8560141
This would be amazing. Even if it was just 50 pages or so

>>8555397
Can you expand upon that?

How much of Gravity's Rainbow do you read in a sitting? This is the first dense book I've read in a very long time. Last night I read about 30 pages then had to go back today and skim over what I read because I couldn't remember it all.